MUMBAI: The Sensex and Nifty closed lower on Tuesday due to selling pressure in Reliance Industries and concerns over rising retail inflation.
After initial gains, the BSE Sensex fell by 152.93 points or 0.19 per cent to end at 81,820.12. During the day, it had dropped by 337.48 points to hit a low of 81,635.57. The NSE Nifty also declined by 70.60 points or 0.28 per cent, finishing at 25,057.35.
Among the biggest laggards were Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Maruti.
Reliance falls
Reliance Industries’ shares dropped after the company reported a 5 per cent fall in net profit for Q2 FY25, impacted by weakness in its oil refining and petrochemicals business. On the other hand, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, Adani Ports, UltraTech Cement, and HCL Technologies were among the gainers.
HCL Technologies reported a 10.51 per cent increase in net profit for the July-September quarter, prompting the company to raise the lower band of its growth guidance. However, inflation worries weighed on sentiment, with India’s retail inflation rising to a nine-month high of 5.49 per cent in September, driven by soaring vegetable prices. This has cast doubt on the possibility of a near-term rate cut.
Brent declined by 5%
Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined by 4.71 per cent to $73.81 per barrel, providing some macroeconomic relief, though inflation remains a concern.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs3,731.59 crore on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs2,278.09 crore.
On Monday, the BSE Sensex had jumped by 591.69 points or 0.73 per cent to close at 81,973.05, and the Nifty gained 163.70 points or 0.66 per cent, ending at 25,127.95.
